03 Nov 2009

Bilski

SFLC and I recently filed a brief in Bilski v. Kappos, along with plenty of other lawyers, and I gave a talk about the case, and the future of patent law, at Cardozo Law School yesterday. The outpouring of amicus briefs in this case, which will be heard by the Court on November 9, must be particularly noticeable to the Justices and their law clerks: a stack of dozens of third-party briefs seeking attention would have been the lunchtime talk of that inner core of the Court back when I worked there, and I’m pretty sure that hasn’t changed. A high stack of amicus briefs—which we called “greens,” for the color of the cover in which the Court requires they be bound—means people outside the Supreme Court think the case is important. Bilski is very important indeed. The Supreme Court and Congress must soon begin shaping patent law for the 21st century. In Bilski, the Supreme Court has an excellent place to start.